SCOTT JOHNSON has declared Wales can scare the pants off Europe's big shots during the Six Nations.

The Aussie assistant to Steve Hansen says Wales are in a far better shape than they were a year ago, when they ended up with the wooden spoon.

"Last year we lost about eight players prior to the first game against Italy," he said. "I thought about putting my boots on myself for a while. The provincial system here and the squad mentality have come through since then. It's fair to say that we wouldn't be panicking if we had the same situation now.

"Everyone has had Test experience over the last 12 months. We have moved on physically and mentally and in terms of maturity. The guys are taking our ideas and moving on. The bigger squad has allowed that to happen. I still defy people to pick our best squad. That is what you want - to have people fighting for positions. This is a working-class country and you want people to have to fight and work for what they get. You don't want them just to get it. The more people we have got pressurising people the better we are."

Johnson says Wales, who open their championship campaign at home to Scotland on Saturday, are well-placed to give the big guns a fright.

"The boys have trained the best I have ever seen. If they've done anything wrong, it's through being overzealous," he said. "If we play well, we will scare the pants off a few hot-shots who think they are better than we think they are."